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Modern Bushido Code. . .

Discussion in 'Japanese Secessionist Army' started by stevenart74, Mar 28, 2018.

  1. stevenart74

    stevenart74 Well-Known Member

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    @Mahtamori opened a very interesting thread about a "Honourable Wuxia Warrior" in the Yujing Sub-Subforum. . .

    It is intended a sort of Martial Art Master (so a "Kung Fu Sifu") with Heavy Infantry Wargear and a strong Moral Compass, unburdened by the "Political Issues" of the Crane / Hsien / Pheasants. . .

    I started a similar comparison in the Fan-Art Threads where I want to make a "Versus Thread" of the most honourable Ancient China Heroes faring againts the BEST epytomes of what really, Really, REALLY is to be a Cyber Samurai (and so a VERY Polar Opposite of the Kempeitais !!). . .

    We have YET Musashi Myamoto, so how one of the modern "Swordfighting Masters" (an so "Iai-Do Sensei") try to strive for Honourable Conducts in the new "Free Japan Empire". . .??
     
  2. Mahtamori

    Mahtamori Well-Known Member

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    As a minor note; I can see room in JSA for some internal strife between the fascist views of the Kempei and the more Bushido views of a Metsuke, the latter being an internal security police hell-bent on enforcing law and order. Call it opposing views on how to enforce law and order.
     
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  3. Yasashii Fuyu

    Yasashii Fuyu Well-Known Member

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    Hmmm I think to get into more details on this we'd have to read the Uprising book to know about how Japanese Society has organized itself after the uprising.

    If the feudal lord system has been reestablished, I reckon the Bushido code won't be that much different than in ancient times...though maybe Seppuku could have a less permanent effect as warriors maybe could make up for their failings with it, yet still get revived if their lords deemed they had restored their honour with it?
     
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  4. gamma ray

    gamma ray Well-Known Member
    Warcor

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    I like the idea of it becoming something akin to a second chance. With modern times I wonder if voluntarily destroying your Cube and back-ups would be viewed as a similar action?
     
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  5. stevenart74

    stevenart74 Well-Known Member

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    This is a very interesting Idea as for the "Cyberpunk Age Seppuku" could work in a Setting where Cubes are widespread. . .

    There are two instances about it being explored in the past. . .

    First when the venerable "Cyberpunk 2020" R.P.G. reached its peak of popularity there was the "Firestorm Event" when finally the Rival Megacorporations "Militech" of U.S.A. (whose Board Members where 75% Texan Gunslinger Cowboys and 25% ITALIAN Gunsmiths !!) and "Arasaka" of Japan (take ANY Bad Stereotype against "Evil Zaibatsu In Cahoots with Yakuzas" and AMP IT UP to Ten !!) decided to merrily go to "Total War" and almost destroy the World; the most powerful "Cyborg Ninja" of Arasaka was a Ninja Master "Jonin Oniwaban" that, to save a cherished Nephew who failed a sensitive mission, had committed Seppuku in the stead and its Brain had been transplanted to a "Stealth Assault Lhost" into which He serenely resided without problems because believed, with Zen Tranquillity, "I have Yet Died, this is a Mechanical Netsuke-Body with which I could STILL serve My Lord with Honour !!". . .

    A similar approach was in the excellent Italian Sci-Fi Short Comic "Benares: Inferno" by the Italian author Davide Fabbri, into which (a couple of years before Talsorian Games of Cyberpunk explored the same issue) a Yakuza Corp was busy militarizing itself with Cyborg Ninjas, whose Prototypes were created with "Seppuku Failures" voluntarily (and happily !!) giving their Heads to provide a "Second Possibility For Honor" !!!
     
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  6. Mahtamori

    Mahtamori Well-Known Member

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    As a small aside; Bushido has been accused of having been written by a sheltered lordling who did not experience warfare outside of the training grounds. It has also been noted that Samurai weren't always the staunch chivalric figures (similar to how knights were often of questionable ethics), nor necessarily the most honourable people.
     
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  7. Yasashii Fuyu

    Yasashii Fuyu Well-Known Member

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    Hehe yeah, I know about that...in fact I plan to implement that fact a little bit into my storyline as my main character won't exactly like the idea of having to adhere to the full Bushido code when he returns to JSA after his "visit" in the Yu Jing Ranks...mainly cause he'll consider it a hindrance to his duty and a danger to JSA's indipendence...hopefully I'll manage to form my ideas into a fun to read story once I finally have Uprising in my hands and know how to transition from the current story arch into the Uprising and so on...
     
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  8. EDOCGenKip

    EDOCGenKip Member
    Warcor

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    My head canon has my in-game character staying essentially an O-12 loyalist. He did not follow any YJ High Command directives during either the Flamia Island or Wotan incidents, instead working tirelessly to fight exclusively against the alien menace in the name of humanity and its governing O-12. Perhaps his nonpartisan efforts helped during the negotiations for the pro-Japanese ceasefire *shrug*? Naturally, he has an immense disdain for the kenpeitai, seeing them as a unnecessary and expendable evil, despite not abiding by any bushido; I imagine the guy is just a fairly straightforward, aggressive kinda fellow
     
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  9. Yasashii Fuyu

    Yasashii Fuyu Well-Known Member

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    I see....so you didn't follow High Commands Orders on Flamia and Wotan eh? Bao's! Apprehend the Traitor! Oh...eh...sorry....old habits die hard... (My Char was in High Command during the Campaigns :-P)
     
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  10. EDOCGenKip

    EDOCGenKip Member
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    I know you were, lol XD, which is why i found your post amusing, when put in contrast with my guy's o12 centric attitude
     
  11. Section9

    Section9 Well-Known Member

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    The real question is whether Japan has dropped back to the 1500s, or whether it's gone to the worst excesses of State Shinto of the 1930s and 40s.

    Based on the Secessionist Kempeitai fluff, I'm personally leaning towards State Shinto. ugh. So I'm leaning towards the recorded behaviors of the Imperial Japanese Army during WW2. To retreat is dishonor. To surrender is dishonor. Death before dishonor!

    Now, since that is *extremely* limiting in RP-ability, I'd recommend someone taking a more ... pragmatic view of things. For that, you'd need to read Musashi's Book of 5 Rings. After all, following that thinking, Musashi was never defeated in single combat.
     
  12. Reservup

    Reservup Active Member

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    I'd recommend reading the Book of Five Rings regardless, it's really interesting and definitely worth a read.
     
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  13. Section9

    Section9 Well-Known Member

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    Yes, I think every gamer should have and read both Sun's Art of War and Book of 5 Rings. And Clausewitz, too.
     
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  14. Telcontar

    Telcontar Well-Known Member

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    Is rping in infinity so common? How does that even work?
     
  15. Cartographer

    Cartographer Well-Known Member

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  16. Section9

    Section9 Well-Known Member

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    Well, about 10 years ago, my gaming group took the Infinity rules and bolted on a skill system. It was pretty loose on the character creation side, since we didn't have to deal with game-breaking munchkins. While this was N2 rules, it'd still work fine today. I still have a PDF of the character sheet (I hope, because that computer tried to drown itself).

    Now, though, Modiphius Entertainment has an actual licensed game.

    I'm currently in a play-by-post forum RP using Modiphius' mechanics. I was in another PbP with ... was that Fragged Empire rules? The character I'm playing now has been in 4 different RP sessions, starting in that old bolt-a-skill-system-on game. The play-by-post games have been run by @Solodice .

    You also have people posting as if they are a citizen of YJ, or a Japanese nationalist, or whatever, in the forums. That's posting in-character.
     
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  17. wayton

    wayton Active Member

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    On personal side....based on what we 'know' or at least guess from fluff snippets. I plan on trying to add a bit of Domaru with an ancient heritage(Shimazu) clinging to the end of the Sengoku period/beginning of the Tokugawa vs his more modern Kempeitai adviser with a more....recent history view of things. Both want basically the same thing, a strong and independent Japanese state, with different views on what that means. Which I guess means I need to read up more on Bushido and that period, my Japanese history is more broad strokes then specifics.
     
  18. Sunabe

    Sunabe Active Member

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    Things didn't change much for the common Japanese's. The only ones that got ahead are the kuge and bushing unfortunately. The emperor is just a puppet of the kuge.
     
  19. Yasashii Fuyu

    Yasashii Fuyu Well-Known Member

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    Well from what I read in the Uprising book so far, Japan is more or less back in ancient japanese times in terms of social structure now. The Kuge/Bushi control military and everyday life while the lower class citizens toil away at ground level. If you are a peasant you'll get only peasant's position in the JSA, unless you become a Tanko, which does eventually allow to rise up in ranks apparently, but with little chance as they are at a severe disadvantage in terms of resources when compared to normal Bushi and so on.

    It is mentioned that a moderm Samurai no longer necessarily means a warrior on a military battlefield, but that they are also often extremely competent business warriors (it's them that control the huge japanese megacorps after all..)

    So yeah, there's some really interesting fluff to be had there.
     
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  20. Fyeya

    Fyeya Yakitori over a light flamethrower

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    Thing is, even back in the day, there were many instances of peasants rising above their station through cleverness/helping samurai, so there are plenty of opportunities for drama there.

    Also Samurai were long more than warriors, but a social class that included aristocrats and statesmen. So that isn't necessarily new - and I do hope the wealthier peasants and poorer samurai having issues can pop up, as it did in Japan in the centuries following the unification by the toshigawa.
     
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